Hi, photo-realism is my first goal and i agree with maxxxmodelz artist skill is very important, but i think that some sw are "stonger" than others (and more expensive !) cinema4d and max with mental ray angine or Vray angine can make stunning result. But a great software don't create a nice photorealistic image for free ! complex scene, composite materials with many layers, light setting, "sense of art" are artist skills not sw features !! knowledge of sw is very important, my best images are made with Vue (and some tricks in photoshop) 3d studio is perfect for me for modeling, but i don't have patience for a nice scene setup... so i make image more beauty with vue (a "minor league" 3d software) than with 3ds (a "major league" 3d software)!